As tides change in Dennis Conner’s North Cove marina, the enduring constant in Battery Park City’s waters is the Manhattan Sailing School that Emily Whipple helps direct.

The Mermaid, an office-classroom hybrid flanked by the school’s 24 J-24 sailboats in the marina, rests in the shadow of the World Financial Center and the ascending Freedom Tower. For the last three and a half years, Whipple has stood in the center of that bobbing vessel, helping New Yorkers discover and develop their passion for sailing.

“On the weekends, we’ll teach a basic sailing course for 50 to 80 people, for a Level 1 certification,” Whipple said. “We decided to add more weekday courses, so we teach the two-day course throughout the week, too. We can teach up to 150 students a week.”

Originally located in the South Street Seaport, the Manhattan Sailing School is celebrating its silver jubilee this year. That’s 25 years of introducing enthusiastic people to life as sailors in a city where most time exhausted on the river is on crowded ferries.

But beyond the educational experience, Whipple takes great pride in her direction of the activities and social aspects for members of the Manhattan Sailing Club. She’s a seasoned sailor with an inherited passion for taking on the sea.

As a child, she traded summers with rocky mountain scenery in her hometown Colorado for the rippling Long Island waters with her parents, also avid sailors. Now, Whipple strives to bring that same joy to the Sailing Club members looking for an escape from their careers and hectic New York schedules.

The clubhouse, anchored just north of Ellis Island, offers a relaxing, lounge atmosphere for members who want to stay in New York, while located far away enough from the bustling Manhattan island to feel like a true getaway.

“This is their outlet in life,” Whipple said. “They slam down the receiver on business calls and come down here, so it’s nice seeing them happy and excited. And some people run away with it. We see them in the Caribbean, and they’re skippers down there.”

The location certainly aides her efforts. Battery Park City barely resembles the New York most natives even recognize. After crossing the West Side Highway, people enter a city within the city that feels like a small town while remaining “outdoors and green.”

“A lot of our club members, and even people who work on our race committees, are residents here,” Whipple shared. “This is a unique area. Yachts love coming in, especially with the Freedom Tower being built. It’s a beautiful skyline.”

But this isn’t a mere venture catering to thrill-seeking adults who long to sail around Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The Manhattan Sailing School developed Operation Optimist, a summer-long introduction to sailing for children aged 8 to 13, and Teen Sailing Camps for kids older than 13 to build lifelong muscle memory while controlling a sailboat.

“The programs are run by the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation, a non-profit we started,” Whipple explained. “They do a bunch of stuff throughout the year, including a Sailor’s Ball and a Hedge Fund Regatta, and other events with all proceeds going to Operation Optimist. We get new boats, and it allows us to bring in more kids.”

With the sailing season wrapping on Oct. 21, Whipple’s sights are set on taking the Manhattan Sailing School into it’s next 25 years.

“Next year, we’ll be unveiling new projects that should be great, and maybe a new clubhouse,” she shared. “We have Sarah Lihan, who just competed in the Olympics, doing the 470, bringing her experience to our members and doing some coaching.”